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Introduction Real understanding of chemistry demands the bringing together of conceptual understandings in a meaningful way. According to Johnstone and Bodnercited in Sirhan (2007), what is taught by teachers is not always what is learned by students. They added that while students show some evidence of learning and understanding in examination papers, research showed evidence of misconceptions and rote learning of certain areas of basic chemistry which are still not understood. Johnstone again indicated that the nature of chemistry concepts and the way the concepts are represented (macroscopic, microscopic, or representational) make chemistry difficult to learn. Ozkaya (2002) attributes learning difficulties in electrochemistry to a general lack of conceptual understanding and attributes this to insufficient textbook explanations of these concepts. Research has shown that students have difficulties in conceptualizing redox reactions (Osterlund, 2009). According to Sirhan (2007), numerous reports supported the view that the interplay between macroscopic and microscopic worlds is a source of difficulty for many chemistry learners. Conceptual change points to the development and transformation of students understanding from their naive conceptions to scientific explanation (Uzuntiryaki, 2003).Conceptual change theory takes constructivism as its foundation, and addresses how thoughts must be altered in order to coincide with scientific theory (Meyers, 2007).The model has direct implications regarding how to construct instruction to achieve conceptual change (Read, 2004). Chemistry instruction should be designed to present anomalies so as to create cognitive conflict. This will create a disequilibrium, which leads to dissatisfaction with the existing concept, and ultimately to a willingness to accommodate a new concept. Teaching chemistry should therefore focus on providing students with opportunities in which they have cognitive conflict and develop different structures based on their experience. Conceptual change can be accomplished if students are given opportunity to be aware of their ideas, to encounter ideas other than their own and to realize the deficiency in their reasoning. According to Balci (2014), conceptual change texts are texts designed to change students' alternative conceptions and focus on strategies to promote conceptual change by challenging students' alternative conceptions, producing dissatisfaction, followed by a correct explanation which is both understandable and plausible to the students.

The concept of hybridisation is one of the most difficult concepts for chemistry students to grasp at all levels of learning. Research showed the students conceptual difficulty ranged from their lack of the pre-requisite knowledge for grasping the topic hybridisation to chemical bond formation and orientations of atomic orbitals. This study investigated the difficulties Senior High School Students face in learning hybridisation. The study adopted a mixed-method approach using the sequential exploratory design. Purposive sampling was used to select six schools that offer elective chemistry subject. Simple random sampling was then used to select 120 Senior High School form 1 students to take part in the study. Convenient sampling was used to interview 24 students from the sample. Hybridisation Achievement Test (HAT) and Semi-structured interviews were self-constructed and used to collect data. Descriptive statistics and Content analysis were used to analyse the data. Results showed that, majority of students had difficulties in explaining the concept of hybrid orbitals, writing the electron configuration of 6C, explaining the effect of hybridisation on formation of chemical bonds in 6C, and type of hybridisation and shapes of compounds such as NH3, OF2, BCl3, CO2, SiO2, C2H2, BeF¬2 and C2H4. The study also showed that students had difficulties in explaining and demonstrating the formation of C = C double bond in ethene and other compounds. Equally students were challenged in demonstrating the differences between the formation of sigma and pi bonds in compounds. Students had difficulties in using electron orbital diagrams to explain the shape of CO2 as linear. The study concluded that Senior High School form 1 chemistry students in the Upper West Region of Ghana lacked the most basic and fundamental concept of hybridisation. Teachers need to use conceptual change instructional approaches to teach hybridisation in order to foster students’ understanding and reduce misconceptions. Keywords: atomic orbitals; hybrid orbitals; hybridisation; mixed- method approach; sigma and pi-bonds;

Introduction Science and Mathematics education is an important tool for the development of any nation scientifically and technologically. The strength of any economy is based on skills that students obtain in math and science courses (Davis, Williams & Drake, 2017). According to Opara, Chilee and Uchechi (2017),integrated science is a subject that covers all aspects of science as a unit. It is concerned with the teaching and learning of the fundamental units of science methods, processes, thoughts strategies and theories as a unitary body. Integrated science is a multidisciplinary course which provides a meaningful understanding of science without differentiating it into various scientific fields (Opara, Chilee & Uchechi, 2017). Integrated science is an interdisciplinary science integrating concepts in all science disciplines such as chemistry, physics and biology. The justification for such an approach includes the fact that knowledge growth requires individuals to understand broader concepts that link science disciplines and the understanding that fragmentation of the curriculum reduces relevance and meaning to students (Bybee et al, 2008). Despite that fact that integrated science is an activity-based subject that needs little of basic computation, but mostly of practical, it seems that the basic knowledge of Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics are the major criteria for full understanding of the subject. It is the measure of this parameter that determines the level of achievement of students in the subject (Ayodele, Adedayo & Ayeni ,2014). 1.1. Problem Statement According to the ministry of Education as contained in the integrated science syllabus, Development in the current world is knowledge based on science and technology. For the country to develop faster, it is important for students to be trained in the processes of seeking answers to problems through scientific investigations and experimentation. Every citizen of the country needs training in science to be able to develop a scientific mind and a scientific culture. This is the only way by which people of the country could deal objectively with phenomena and other practical issues; prevent reliance on superstition for explaining the nature of things and help us to construct and build the present and the future on pragmatic scientific basis.(MoE, 2010). The integrated science syllabus is a conscious effort to raise the level of scientific literacy of all students and equip them with the relevant basic scientific knowledge needed for their own living and secondly, needed for making valuable contributions to production in the country. According to Anamuah-Mensah, Asabere-Ameyaw, & Mereku, (2004), Ghana's average scores in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in life science, chemistry and physics were the lowest of all the

Developing and Validating an Instrument to Measure Students' Attitude towards Electrochemistry 1. Introduction Chemistry curricula commonly incorporate many abstract concepts, which are central to further learning in both chemistry and other sciences (Taber, 2002). Chemistry topics are generally related to or based on the structure of matter, and proved to be a difficult subject for many students (Sirhan, 2007). According to Yochum & Luoma cited in Sia, Treagust & Chandrasegaran (2012) students find electrochemistry difficult to master because they cannot observe or imagine what happens in the microscopic level in an electrochemical reaction. According to Taber as cited in Akram et al. (2014), electrochemistry causes confusion in students and they did not freely assimilate their knowledge across physics and chemistry. Sanger and Greenbowe (1997) cited in Akram et al. (2014) found that students had learning difficulties about galvanic, electrolytic and concentration cells. Research has confirmed that attitudes are linked with academic achievement. Salta and Tzougraki (2004) found that the correlation between high school students' achievement in chemistry and their attitudes toward chemistry ranged from 0.24 to 0.41. Bennett, Rollnick, Green and White (2001) also found that undergraduate students who had a less positive attitude to chemistry almost invariably obtained lower examination marks. Attitude, motivation, and interest are the most important student characteristics associated with successful studies (Dalgety et al., 2003; Berg, 2005b). Attitude towards chemistry is essential; it denotes interests or feelings towards studying chemistry. Attitude and academic achievement are important outcomes of science education in secondary schools. Students' attitude and interests could play substantial role in students' decision to study science (Abulude, 2009). Another reason why it is important to develop students' positive attitudes toward chemistry lessons is that attitudes predict behaviors (Glasman & Albarracín, 2006; Kelly, 1988). For example, Kelly cited in Cheung, 2011 reported that British students' liking for a particular science subject was a good predictor of their actual choice of physics, chemistry, or biology in schools. Research has shown clearly that a negative attitude towards chemistry is the dominant factor affecting student willingness to study further chemistry. Based on social psychological models, it has been shown that attitudes towards topics and themes in chemistry are developed by means of interactive teaching materials. The development of students' positive attitude is necessary because attitude is linked with academic achievement (Cheung, 2009). Weinburgh, (1995) in a meta-analysis of research have summarized that the correlation between students' positive attitude towards science and academic achievement is 0.55 for girls and 0.5 for boys, indicating that an attitude can account for 25-30% of the variance for academic achievement. Bennett, Rollnick, Green and White (2001) also found that u...

Teachers are motivated by a variety of variables while they carry out their employment. However, the expected impact on teacher motivation has not been achieved as a result of the economic reasons. Numerous studies have demonstrated that social elements, such as satisfying interpersonal interactions, can spur people to pursue and accomplish a goal. But there has been a lot of silence over how this varies by gender. This made it necessary to conduct research to determine how interpersonal interactions (IR), specifically those between teachers and students, teachers and other teachers, and teachers and heads of schools in Ghana's Upper East Region (UER), affected teachers' motivation. A cross-sectional survey study design was used, and the data collection process used a mixed technique approach. Teachers at pre-tertiary institutions in UER in Ghana are the target demographic. 831 female and 1,719 male instructors from the area made up the sample. The data was gathered using a teacher motivation scale comprising 4 Likert scale questions and an interview schedule for focus group discussions. The findings demonstrated that interpersonal interactions at school (TP, TT, and TH) influence how instructors in pre-tertiary institutions in Ghana's Upper East Region (UER) carry out their duties, with TT offering the greatest incentive and TH the least. Although IR generally has no association with gender, Pearson's chi-square study revealed that TT as a teacher motivator is associated to gender. To encourage male and female teachers to fulfil their jobs, it is important to foster positive interpersonal interactions at pre-tertiary institutions. Being able to establish close relationships with one's co-workers is key to enjoying one's job as a teacher. Therefore, it is crucial that educators work hard to cultivate good relationships with their colleagues.   Received: 12 August 2022 / Accepted: 29 December 2022 / Published: 5 January 2023

Teachers feel their work is becoming increasingly stressful and their status is falling leading to less job satisfaction with a concomitant loss in motivation. This study sought to find out in quantitative terms, the amount of motivation that the intrinsic and extrinsic socio-economic factors make to teacher motivation. The research design employed for this research is quasi-experimental. Two thousand and ninety-eight (2,098) teachers were selected from the Upper East Region of Ghana. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected. The results showed that intrinsic and extrinsic socio-economic factors do motivate teachers in the execution of their work. However, not a strong association exist between teacher motivation and the intrinsic and extrinsic socio-economic variables. Not much of teacher motivation depends on socio-economic factors. Per the findings of the study, the association between the degree of motivation that teachers receive from the intrinsic and extrinsic socio-economic factors, M€, and the percentage of respondents that claim they are motivated by the factors, f€, could be represented by the polynomial relation, M€ = µ3(f€)3 - µ2(f€)2 + µ1(f€) - µ0. Intrinsic and extrinsic (socio-economic) factors cannot sustain the motivation of teachers permanently, even though the lack of them will lead to demotivation of teachers.